The Comfort of Friends
by HOBxBOS
Summary: Sometimes when your friends comfort you, it can lead to more. Bad summary but w/e. Don't own OTH.
1. Comfort

1Brooke was still at Clothes Over Bros trying to finish up her paperwork. Her phone started to ring.

"Hello?... Hey Nathan... What's up?...What's wrong? You sound upset?...Yeah I'll be right there." She hung up the phone and went to her car. She drove to Nathan's beach house. She knocked on the door and when Nathan answered he looked a mess. "What happened Nathan?"

"After everything we've been through. Everything. She does this." Nathan walked into his living room with Brooke following.

"Who? What? What's going on?" Brooke was confused so she took a seat on the couch.

"Haley." Nathan sat down next to her.

"What happened Nate? What did she do?" Brooke was looking at him in concern.

"She...She..." He got up and started pacing. "She cheated on me!"

"What? With who?" Brooke was beyond shocked now. She couldn't believe that her tutor girl would be capable of cheating.

"Jamie's teacher. Mr. Copeland." He rubbed the back of his neck.

"How long has that been going on?" Brooke asked him.

"I didn't ask. I came home from work. I went upstairs to say hello to my wife, and there was another man in my bed. I can't believe she'd do that to me." He sat down and put his head in his hands.

"I'm sorry Nathan. I really am." Her phone started to ring so she hit the ignore button. She just sat there comforting him and every five minutes her phone would ring again. Nathan chuckled. "What?"

"You're a very busy person." He smiled.

"Well, yes when I run my own company it tends to make me a busy person. But this call doesn't have to do anything with work." She put her phone in her purse.

"Well who is it?" Nathan asked.

"The devil. My mother." Brooke rolled her eyes as it started ringing again.

"Maybe you should just answer it." He offered.

"I'll be right back." She walked into the other room. "Hello?...Oh...Hi...New York City?...For a meeting?...I'll get back to you...Ok. Bye." She hung up and went back into the room with Nathan.

"What did she want?" He asked her while watching a basketball game.

"Oh. It wasn't my mother. It was some guy. I guess there's a meeting in two weeks in New York City. I have to go." She sat back down on the couch.

"Really?" He asked interested in the idea.

"Yeah. Why?" She stared at him with curiosity.

"I could use a vacation. How long will you be there?" He was really looking forward to getting away.

"A week. Two tops though. Do you really think you can spend that much time away from Jamie though?" She asked him.

"I need a break. I'll miss the little guy of course, but I just want to be away from Haley. Far away." He explained.

"I understand that. After Lucas pr...never mind." She quickly changed the subject. "So when's the next basketball game on?"

"Don't change the subject. What did Lucas do?" He smirked at her.

"Nothing. It's no big deal." She looked around the room.

"Come on. Tell me. I told you what Haley did...tell me." He ordered.

"Fine. But this stays between me and you. Remember after the almost Lindsay and Lucas wedding?" She asked him.

"Yeah?" He was confused.

"Well, when I had to give up Angie...it was really hard and Lucas was there for me. So when Lindsay left, I was there for him. A week after, I got a phone call from Luke. He said that he was going to Vegas and he had two tickets. Then he asked me if I wanted to get married. I turned him down..." She paused to see what he would say.

"Well yeah, I mean, you two weren't even going out and he proposed? That's ridiculous." Nathan exclaimed.

"Yeah. Well he came back a week later and turns out he did get married. To Peyton." She finished and watched as his jaw dropped.

"He got married. To Peyton. Wow. And I thought I've heard it all." He chuckled. "So...Can I go?"

"Fine. You can go. But your wife..."She started.

"Soon to be ex wife." Nathan cut in.

"Right. Your soon to be ex wife, won't like it. You go to New York with another woman. Sounds so wrong." She finished.

"She was with another man. In my bed. She can't get mad." Nathan got some blankets and pillows and then they sat down. "Lets watch a movie to get certain people off of our minds."

"Ok. How about...Wrong Turn?" She suggested. "It's kind of hard to think of other people when you're watching people get killed by mutilated people."

"Well when you put it like that, how could I say no?" He smiled. Then he went and got them popcorn, soda, and candy.

"Lets get this movie started." They pressed play and then watched the movie.


	2. The Confrontation

Brooke woke up and was confused as to where she was. She realized she was on a couch and when she looked around she remembered what happened the night before. She turned and looked at Nathan. She smiled then she looked at her watch. It was 12: 35 midnight. She quietly got up and wrote a note to Nathan. Then she left and drove home.

A sunlight through the window woke Nathan up. He stretched and looked around and didn't see Brooke. He looked at the clock. It said 9: 10 a..m. He saw a piece of paper on the table and read it.

'Nate, had to go home so I could be ready for work tomorrow, well, later anyways. If you need to talk to someone, call me. Or show up at work, I could use an excuse to get away. Ha ha. Talk to you later hotshot. Brooke'

Nathan smiled. Then he went to Karen's Café to get something to eat.

"Hey Nathan." Karen greeted. "Lucas is here if you need someone to talk to. I heard about what happened. I'm really sorry."

"Whatever. And I already have a friend that I can talk to." Nathan replied. "Can I have a toasted plain bagel?"

"Yeah sure. And you know, it's good to have more than one person to talk to. For you and your friends. Sometimes, we may not notice, but when we talk to other people about our problems, we're dumping them onto their shoulders. It can be a lot to handle." She told him while getting his bagel ready.

"Yeah. Whatever." He sat down.

"Hey Nate." Lucas sat next to him.

"Lucas." Nathan didn't even look at him.

"How are you holding up?" Lucas asked sympathetically.

"How do you think?" Nathan snapped at him.

"Sorry. Just trying to be a good brother and help." Lucas stared down at his coffee.

"Half brother." Nathan reminded him.

"Would it kill you to be nice to me for once?" Lucas was tired of the attitude Nathan always gave him.

"Yeah it probably would." Nathan thanked Karen for the bagel and was about to leave. "Hey sorry Karen, but could you grab me another toasted bagel, cream cheese, and two coffees?"

"Yeah no problem." Karen went to get them.

"You bringing something for Haley?" Lucas asked.

"No! Why would I?" He snapped at him again.

"Maybe because she's your wife?" Lucas suggested.

"Soon to be ex wife." Nathan mumbled.

"Come on Nate. She made a mistake." Lucas stood next to Nathan.

"Whatever." Nathan thanked Karen again as she handed him his stuff. He paid her and then left.

"You know Luke, you two are going to have to tell him. It's bad enough he went four years without knowing and living with it." She told him.

"I know. But it's going to be so hard." Lucas shuffled his feet.

"I know my boy. But you can do it." Karen went back to work.

Nathan drove to Clothes Over Bros. He walked inside and saw her employee Millicent.

"Hey Millicent. Is Brooke in?" Nathan asked her.

"Uh yeah. But we're extremely busy today Nate. I don't know if she can have any visitors today." Millicent said as she scrambled through the papers on her counter.

"There's no customers here." Nathan pointed out.

"I know but..." Millicent was cut off as Brooke walked out on her phone. Nathan had to admit she looked busy. "Brooke, Mr. Sawyer called."

Brooke just stopped walking. "Mr. Sawyer as in formed best friend Peyton Sawyers dad?"

"Yes. I guess her and Lucas are renewing their wedding vows." Millicent and Nathan looked at Brooke.

"And?" She asked.

"Well, they wanted to set up an appointment with you." Millicent grabbed the paper with the message on it.

"Umm...when?" Brooke walked over to the counter.

"They said two weeks would be good." She suggested.

"Sorry. I can't. I forgot to mention that there's a meeting in New York City. I have to attend to it." Brooke told Millicent.

"Oh..." Millicent looked at her feet.

"You have family there right?" Brooke looked at her.

"Yeah. Why?" She looked at Brooke curiously.

"Well, you see. I bought you a ticket if you would like to go. Paid leave?" Brooke offered and watched as her friend jumped up and down in joy. Millicent went and hugged Brooke.

"Thank you! Thank you! I haven't been able to see them in such a long time. I have a phone call to make!" Millicent ran out of the room. Brooke chuckled and then remembered Nathan was there.

"That was a nice thing for you to do." Nathan told her.

"Yeah. She works hard. She's my best employee." Brooke smiled.

"Yeah. Anyways, I brought you a bagel, cream cheese, and a coffee." Nathan handed them to her.

"Aw thanks Nate. You didn't have to." She thanked him and took a huge sip of it.

"Apparently you really wanted it." He smirked at her.

"I'll be here for a while. I fired my mom." She looked at the floor.

"Why?" Nathan asked her.

"She was being too bossy and she tried to fire Millicent." Brooke admitted.

"Well you did the right thing." He smiled at her.

"Yeah. Anyways, did you need to talk or anything?" She asked him.

"No. Just came to visit. And I didn't want to stay home all day. Need any help?" He looked at her almost pleadingly.

"Actually, we could use some help. I can pay you for today." She offered.

"I would work for free. But sure. What do you need done?" He asked.

"Could you possibly sort these papers by date?" She pleaded.

"Sure." He got to work. With the three of them sorting through the papers it seemed as though the day went by quicker. It was the end of the day. Nathan offered for Brooke to come back to his place and they could hang out. They got there. She was there for an hour and then she got a text message.

"Hey Nate, sorry to cut this short but I need to go. Call if you need anything." She gave him a hug then she left. She drove to Nathan and Haleys' house. Haley let her in. They sat on the couch.

"Thanks for coming." Haley said to her.

"Haley...what happened? I thought you were happy with Nathan?" Brooke was beyond confused at how Haley could do this to him.

"I was...I am...I just. I don't know. I guess we just got married and everything was going to fast." She explained.

"How long?" Brooke asked.

"About a year and a half." Haley admitted.

"Haley!" Brooke exclaimed.

"I know. I know I feel awful. Do you think he'd take me back?" Haley asked afraid to hear what Brooke would say.

"Honestly?" Brooke asked and Haley nodded. "No I don't. You hurt him. Bad."

"I didn't mean to. It's just Ethan's a great guy. He...he makes me happy." Haley shamefully admitted.

"Well then you should have done things the right way. If you weren't happy with Nate, then you should have gotten a divorce and saved him the pain." Brooke looked at one of her best friends and couldn't believe that she would do something like this.

"Why did you turn Lucas down?" Haley asked out of no where.

"What? He told you?" Brooke asked incredulously. "We weren't even going out and he proposed to me? That's not right. That's not how I wanted my life to turn out. I don't want to get married by Elvis at a drive through in Vegas.

"So you don't love him?" Haley grabbed them both drinks.

"Truthfully? There will always be a spot in my heart for Lucas. But...I just can't play that game with him anymore." Brooke explained. "Plus he's married to Peyton now so it doesn't matter."

"Yeah." There was an awkward silence.

"Well I should go. I have work tomorrow. Bye Haley." Brooke left.

It was a week later. Nathan decided he had to face Haley and tell her that he's going to New York for a week or two. He met her at Karen's Café.

"Hi Nate. You look good." She told him.

"Thanks. Listen I didn't come here for me and you. We're through." He told her and watched as her face fell a little. "I'm going to New York City next week."

"What? Are you kidding me? What about Jamie?" Haley rushed into asking him questions. "With who? How long? Why?"

"One thing, we're getting divorced so I don't need to tell you anything." Nathan told her. "But I will because I'm not hiding anything. Possibly two weeks at the most. Because truthfully, I need to get away from you. And with Brooke. She's going there for business and I'm tagging along."

"So what? We're getting divorced and you jump at the chance to go to another state with my best friend?!" She asked incredulously and hurt. "You're starting to sound like Lucas! He can't have one so he goes for their best friend!" She didn't mean to say that but she was angry.

"Me and Brooke aren't together. She's being a friend to me. Not that it's any of your business. I just thought I'd let you know." He got up and left. He drove to Brooke's. When she answered the door he could tell that she was sleeping. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to wake you. I'll see you tomorrow." He went to walk away but she grabbed his arm.

"No it's ok. Come on in." They walked to her couch.

"I talked to Haley. I told her we were going to New York. She accused me of being like Lucas and going after her best friend. Which I explained that's not how it was. Then I left." He told her sadly.

"It's ok Nate. Lets watch a movie. You pick." She offered.

"Ok. How about...Scary Movie 4?" He asked.

"Sure. Pop it in. I'll get the food and drinks." She went into the kitchen. When she came back, Nathan was sitting on the couch waiting. He had a blanket and pillows out. "Comfy are we?"

He smirked at her. "Yes actually. What did you get? Mountain Dew, good choice. Popcorn, original. Skittles, Starbursts, M&Ms. Wow, you have quite the variety there. From Gummy Bears to Giant one pound Hershey bars. You sure are the movie host."

"Eh I'm just good at this kind of stuff." They sat and watched the movie and fell asleep during it.


	3. Misunderstandings and a party

When Brooke woke up it was sunny out. She looked at the clock and saw that it was 10:45 a.m. Her eyes widened when she realized she was really late for work. She scrambled to get off the couch but her legs got caught in the blankets and she fell off the couch with a loud thud. Nathan jumped awake.

"Brooke?" He looked around then saw her on the ground scrambling to get up. "Are you ok?"

"I'm two hours late for work!" She rushed into her room hearing Nathan chuckle from the living room.

"Want me to give you a ride?" He offered.

"No that's ok. You're welcome to stay here if you want. Remember we're leaving in like a week so make sure you're ready." She yelled from her room.

"Please, I've been packed since you told me." He heard her laugh from her room.

Brooke ran out of her room with all of her stuff in her arms. "Alright well I'll talk to you later. Are you staying here or leaving?"

"I'm not sure." He answered.

"Ok. Well at 2 I'm having a carpenter coming here so if you are still here then stay out of his way please." She told him.

"Why is a carpenter coming?" He asked.

"Because I have a leak. He's going to fix it. Plus, he's hot so I like to have him come fix stuff." She smirked then it fell from her face. "Although it really stinks that I wouldn't be here this time."

"Right. I'll let him know how truly sorry you are for missing his weekly visits." He laughed at her.

"Shut up. Alright bye." She ran out the door.

Nathan decided to stay. He talked to the guy the whole time.

"So what made you want to be a carpenter?" Nathan asked the guy.

"I don't know. I like the hard work. And I like to put things together. I'm Jeff by the way." Jeff smiled at Nathan. Nathan was getting weird vibes from this guy.

"Nathan." Nathan shook his hand. They talked for an hour. "So, do you like Brooke?"

"What?" Jeff looked at him weird.

"What?" Nathan was confused. "All I asked was if you liked Brooke."

"You don't get it?" Jeff asked.

"Get what?" Nathan was beyond confused.

"Are you single?" Jeff checked out Nathan not so subtle. Nathan's eyes got wide.

"OH!" He choked on his words. "I uh...I'm sorry dude, but I just...I like girls."

"Oh...I'm sorry. It's just, you were talking to me the whole time. I thought you were giving off some hints." Jeff looked really embarrassed but mainly disappointed.

"Right." Nathan looked anywhere but at Jeff.

"Umm well I'm done. Tell Brooke I'll send the bill." Jeff quickly left. Nathan sat on the couch and waited for Brooke to come home. She came home at 4.

"Hey. Did he come by?" She asked.

"Yeah. About that..." Nathan started but she cut him off.

"I wish I was here." She looked at Nathan who looked uncomfortable. "What?"

"I take it you didn't know." Nathan said.

"Know what?" She was confused.

"Jeff is gay." He stated slowly. Brooke started laughing.

"That's funny Nate. That's hilarious." She wiped her eyes.

"I'm not kidding. He asked me if I was single and he told me." Nathan felt his face get hot so he was sure he was flushed with embarrassment.

"I never saw that coming. So he flirted with you?" She asked and watched as he nodded. She laughed out loud. "That's funny. Good thing I didn't try and put a move on him. I would've scared him away."

"Yeah." Nathan was quiet now.

"So...you want dinner? I was planning on making pizza tonight." She said.

"Why don't you just buy it?" He asked.

"I like making it. So you want some?" She went into the kitchen.

"Yeah sure. Can I help?" He asked as he helped her get the ingredients out.

"Sure." They made pizzas and about an hour later they were ready. They sat in the living room and watched movies while they ate. During the movie Brooke's phone rang. "Hello?...Oh hey Bevin...Yeah sure...Oh...Really?...I don't know then...It will be kind of awkward...Fine...Alright. Bye." She hung up and sighed.

"What?" Nathan asked.

"Want to go to a party? It's Lucas and Peytons congratulations party." She told him.

"Do you want to go? It's going to be awkward. I mean, that would have been you." He said.

"I know. But, Luke's your brother. We should go. We shouldn't let them make our lives miserable. But just to warn you Haley's going to be there." She warned,

"Lets go." Nathan stood.

"Let me just go get ready." She left to get ready. She came back fifteen minutes later in a mid-thigh length red cocktail dress.

Nathan whistled. "Wow. You looked great."

"Thanks. One thing I know about Lucas is that he loved it when I wore red dresses. I don't know why..." She was cut off by Nathan.

"I do." She rolled her eyes and they walked out to his car. They drove to the address Bevin gave her. "Is this the place?"

"I guess. Come on." They both went inside and saw it crowded with all of their friends. "Mouth!" She quickly hugged him.

"Hi. How are you Brooke Davis?" Mouth smiled at his friend.

"I'm fine. You? I hear you and Millicent are serious." She smiled.

"Everything's great. And yes we are." Millicent came over and kissed Mouth. Then she hugged Brooke.

"Brooke, I don't want to put a damper in your fun tonight but there's something you need to know." She paused. "Mouth got a job out of Tree Hill and...I'm going with him."

"Oh...Well congrats Mouth. And take care of my girl." She hugged Millicent again. Then they walked off. Nathan heard Brooke sigh so he turned towards her.

"You ok?" He asked concerned about her.

"Yeah. She's a really good friend of mine. It's going to be hard to lose her." She smiled sadly.

"We'll get through it. Now lets get through this. We should probably congratulate them." They walked over to Lucas and Peyton. They noticed that when Peyton saw Brooke and Nathan, she grabbed hold of Lucas's arm possessively.

"Hey guys." Peyton gave them a slightly forced smile.

"Hi. Congratulations." Brooke and Nathan both said. They both noticed Lucas eyeing Brooke. That made her smirk because she knew he would.

"Thanks." Peyton said. "Lucas lets get a drink." She dragged him away and Brooke started laughing.

"That was funny." She wiped her eyes.

"Glad you're enjoying yourself." Nathan said to her. Then he noticed Haley talking to Bevin. He also noticed Ethan Copeland. Brooke followed his glance and smiled sympathetically at him.

"You know, if you really want Haley back then I could always swoop in and take Ethan off her hands. He is cute." She smiled but then frowned. "That made me sound bad. I'm just kidding anyways."

"She can keep him. She may have betrayed me, but I still want her to be happy." Nathan nodded towards Haley saying hi. She nodded back.

"That's very gentlemanly of you." Brooke got them drinks. "Here."

"Thanks." It was an hour later. Nathan and Brooke were just sitting at the bar. Nathan felt a tap on his shoulder. He turned and saw Ethan there. "What do you want? You have my wife. What more could you take?"

Ethan just shook his head then punched Nathan in the jaw. Brooke jumped in surprise. Nathan and Ethan started fighting. Nathan didn't even know why. Finally Brooke pulled Nathan away and Lucas pulled Ethan away.

"What the hell is your problem?!" Nathan yelled.

"You!" Ethan yelled back.

"Come on Nate. Lets just get out of here." Brooke had to drag him to her car. Then she brought him to her place so he could let out his anger in private. Which he did. He paced and talked and yelled. "I'm going to watch a movie. When you calm down, come join me."

He watched as she left the room. Five minutes later he took a deep breath and followed her. They watched Mission Impossible 3.


	4. The talk

1It was the next morning. Brooke was making her and Nathan some breakfast.

"I still can't believe the nerve of that guy! I mean, who does he think he is? I have no idea why he hit me." Nathan was ranting about what happened at the party.

"Maybe you need to talk to Haley about it. Sort it all out." Brooke offered. "We could invite her over for breakfast with Jamie. And I could watch him while you two talk."

"That's a good idea." Nathan agreed. So Brooke called Haley and invited her and Jamie over. They got there about fifteen minutes later.

"Hey Brooke...Nathan." Haley greeted them then sat down next to Brooke at the table.

"Hi Auntie Brooke! Dad!" James ran and hugged Nathan.

"Hey buddy." They all ate their breakfast and had small talk.

"Well, Jamie how would you like to go play a game outside?" Brooke asked him.

"Yeah! I'll beat you there." James jumped from his seat and ran out the door with Brooke following.

"So..." Haley started.

"Where the hell does that guy get the idea that he can just hit me?! I didn't do anything Haley!" Nathan yelled.

"Listen, me and him were talking and he just didn't think it was right about the way you treated me. He got angry and left the table before I could say anything." She told him.

"WHAT?! From what I remember Haley, I treated you like a freaking princess!" Nathan was angry now.

"Sometimes, yes you did. But we talked about all the things I gave up for you." She muttered.

"Like what?" Nathan was confused as to what she was talking about.

"I don't know. Maybe my music career." She said sarcastically. "I left tour to come back with you. I gave myself up to you. I gave you my life. I gave you a son!" She yelled.

"It's all about you huh Haley?" He asked her. "What about me? I gave up basketball for you. That's all I lived for. Basketball and girls. I gave up both to be with you. I NEVER once cheated on you. You've done it twice."

"Twice?" Haley asked confused.

"Yeah. Chris Keller. And Ethan Copeland." He informed her. "You didn't think I knew about the kiss did you? Well I did."

"Nathan...I..." She started.

"No. There's no point in saying anything. You can't take it back. And from the looks of last night, you're pretty content with Ethan." He spat his name out. "I just wanted to know what gave him the right to hit me. And I wanted to see my son."

"I never meant to hurt you." She said quietly.

"Yeah? Well you did." He walked out the door and watched Brooke and James play basketball.

"I'm going to beat you!" Brooke told him and stuck her tongue out.

"Oh please. I can whip your butt any day." Jamie told her as if it was a fact.

"Oh really. Well then you're going to have to prove that to me." They continued playing.

"She's going to make a good mom one day." Haley stated.

"Yeah. She will." Nathan agreed with her. Nathan and Haley cleaned up the kitchen for Brooke. Jamie ran in an hour later with Brooke chasing him. They were laughing.

"I told you I'd beat you." He bragged.

"I should've know. Of course no one can beat a Scott." She smiled at the little boy.

"Alright, come on Jamie. Say goodbye to Aunt Brooke and daddy. We have to go." Haley told him. They said bye and then left.

"So, what did she say?" Brooke asked Nathan.

"She said that he was mad at the way I treated her. And that she blamed me for not going on tour and stuff like that." He waved it off.

"Oh. Well if you need to talk. I'm here." She told him.

"You've been saying that a lot lately." Nathan grabbed them both a beer.

"That's because I'm a good friend. And good thing I didn't have to work today. I'm exhausted." Brooke sat down on the couch. Nathan followed suit.

"Yeah. Just having that talk with Haley made me tired." He yawned. "I know it's unusual but I hope that even after what she did to me, and after the divorce that me and Haley can still be friends."

"That would be nice. It's always good for the parents to get along when they get divorced. It would be good for Jamie. Less stress." Brooke said.

"Sounds like you're experienced." Nathan grabbed them both a drink.

"Yeah. And the sad part is, my parents aren't even divorced." Brooke chuckled.

"Well I..." His phone started ringing. "Hello? Hey mom. Uh yeah sure. I'll be there in ten. Bye. Sorry Brooke, I have to run. My mom needs me for something."

"That's alright. I'm probably going to take a nap then go shopping." She shrugged.

"Alright. Well I'll talk to you later." He gave her a hug then he left.

"I need to talk to a friend." Brooke said to herself. She called one of her friends that she has been close to since the last year of high school. "Rachel? Hi it's Brooke. Can I talk to you?"

Nathan got to Deb's house. He walked inside.

"Mom?" He called out.

"In the kitchen." She yelled back.

"What are you doing?" He asked her.

"Cleaning." She wiped the hair off of her forehead.

"What did you need me for?" He looked around the kitchen.

"Oh. I need help cleaning the garage." She told him.

"Mom, can't Dan do it? He does live here." Nathan complained.

"Nathan. We're moving out of here. Into a smaller home. I need all the help I can get. And Dan's working. So please." She begged him.

"Fine." He helped her.

Brooke and Nathan have been pretty busy for the next couple days so they weren't able to hang out. The only time they saw each other was when Nathan met up at Brooke's house the night before they left.

"Hey Nate. Long time no see." She smiled.

"Yeah I know. I've been pretty busy." He told her.

"Yeah me too. Millicent just put her stuff in my car. I just have to load up mine, then yours. Do you have clothes to change into tomorrow before we leave?" She asked him.

"Yes I do. I'll go put my stuff in the car." He started to walk out when he passed Millicent. "Hey Mill."

"Hey Nate. Brooke, all my stuff is ready to go." Millicent told her.

"Thanks. I'll just go grab mine." She put her stuff in her car. Then her, Millicent, and Nathan sat on her couch and watched movies. Brooke had her alarm set to 6: 00 a.m. so they didn't oversleep. Their plane was at 8 and it would take them and hour to get to the airport. They fell asleep while watching Just Like Heaven.


	5. New York City

Brooke, Nathan, and Millicent were all on the plane.

"I hate flying." Brooke stated while clutching the arms of the chair. Nathan laughed.

"What's to be scared of?" He asked her.

"A lot of things. We could crash. We...We could lose oxygen. We could..." Brooke was gambling and Nathan cut her off.

"We're not going to crash. You can't keep living on what if's or we could's. You'll be stuck in a box your whole life if you do that." Nathan grabbed them all drinks.

"Whatever. I'm going to sleep. Wake me when we get there." Brooke leaned her head on Nathan's shoulder.

"Actually I was thinking we'd leave you on the plane. That would be funny." Nathan thought about it for a minute.

Brooke fell asleep and they were in New York in an hour.

"Brooke. Brooke we're there wake up." Nathan was shaking her. She finally woke up.

"Hey." She stretched.

"Here." He handed her carry on bag to her. They got off the plane.

"Want me to get a rental?" Nathan asked.

"Oh no. We have a ride." She walked over to a limo. Nathan and Millicent followed.

"We get to go in a limo?" He asked almost as excited as a little kid.

"Yes little Nate, we get to go in a limo." She smiled then they all got in. They got to their hotel ten minutes later. They were staying at the Pierre hotel.

"Nice place." Nathan commented.

"Yeah. It got a four and a half stars." Brooke walked up to the front desk. "Hi. I have a reservation. Brooke Davis. Two rooms."

"Ah yes. The 39th floor. Room 200 and 201." She gave them their keys.

"Thank you." They went in the elevator to the top floor. Nathan stayed in room 200 and Brooke and Millicent stayed in 201. After about a half an hour after getting settled in, Nathan went over to Brooke's room.

"Hey. Where's Mill?" Nathan sat on one of the beds.

"Oh. She went to go visit some family that she had here. She couldn't wait. Want to go get something to eat?" Brooke asked him. He nodded so they both left. When they got back they were tired so they went to sleep. It was two days later. "I have to go to a meeting. You'll be ok here?"

"Yeah I'm a big boy. I'll be fine." He said goodbye and she left. She didn't come back until late that night. "Hey how was it?"

"Exhausting." She laid down on her bed.

"Are you hungry?" He asked her.

"No. I'm just tired. I'm going to sleep." She was asleep in ten minutes.

That's how it went for most of their time there. But while they were there, Brooke and Millicent went clothes shopping, they ate at good restaurants, and they went around Central Park. Millicent spent a lot of time visiting her family, Nathan just lounged around, and Brooke worked. It was their last night there.

"I'm going to visit my family for the last night. I'll be back early tomorrow." Millicent told them then she left.

"So what do you want to do?" Nathan asked Brooke.

"Well there's this restaurant I have always wanted to go to." She suggested. They got a ride there.

"How many?" The host asked.

"Two." Brooke answered. They got brought to a small table.

"It's nice here." Nathan complimented on the style.

"I know. It's beautiful." They just sat and waited for their waiter.

"Hello, my name is John. I'll be your waiter tonight. Now what can I get you two to drink?" He asked.

"I'll have some red wine please." Brooke asked him.

"Make that two." Nathan told him.

"Yes. I'll be back shortly with your drinks." He walked off.

"So what did you do while I was at my meetings?" Brooke asked Nathan.

"Nothing really. I just hung out in the room, and I walked around Central Park." The waiter came back a few minutes with their drinks. "Thanks."

"Are you all set to order or do you need more time?" He pulled out his pad of paper.

"We're ready. I'll have the filet mignon." Brooke ordered her meal then gave the waiter the menu.

"I'll have the lasagna." Nathan handed him the menu. Him and Brooke talked until their food got there and then they ate in a comfortable silence.

Once they were done eating, they paid the bill and walked outside.

"Now what?" Nathan asked.

"I've always wanted to go in a horse carriage ride around Central Park. Come on." They went over to one of the horse carriages and got on. They rode around through the park for about an hour. Then they went back to the hotel. "That was fun. Thanks."

"No problem." They sat on the bed and were watching a movie. After it was done Brooke stretched and Nathan poked her on her side. She flinched. "Ticklish are we?" He smirked.

"No. You just caught me off guard." She lied.

"Uh huh." Nathan started tickling her.

"No! Nate s-stop!" She was laughing hysterically now. After a few minutes they stopped. Nathan was very close to Brooke. They were just looking at each other. Then he moved his face closer and kissed her.


	6. Tree Hill, drama, and a guilty brother

1The kiss started to go deeper and after a few minutes they started to go further until Brooke suddenly pulled away.

"Nate...I...I can't." She stumbled on her words. "It's just, you're still married to Haley and she's my friend. I just...I'll feel horrible."

"Uh it's ok. I'm sorry." He rubbed the back of his neck and looked everywhere but at her. "I should get to my room. Pack up and then get some sleep. Goodnight:

"Goodnight." She watched him walk out and then she sighed and fell back on the bed. It was the next morning. They were all on the plane except this time, Millicent sat between Nathan and Brooke. They got back to Tree Hill in a couple of hours.

"I'll go to the store and check things out." Millicent told Brooke.

"No it's ok. Go see Mouth. I'll go check on the store." Brooke told her. Millicent nodded and then left.

"So...are we going to forget what happened last night?" Nathan asked her.

"It would probably be best." Brooke grabbed her luggage.

"Is it what you want?" Nathan really didn't want to forget about it.

"Well...no. But it would be awkward. I mean, you and Haley are...were...whatever. But you guys are married." Brooke got a taxi for them.

"Well we're getting a divorce." Nathan simply told her.

"I know. But if things are going to happen, I want to wait until after. I just won't feel right knowing you're still married." Brooke got out at her store.

"Do you need any help?" Nathan asked Brooke.

"No I'm good. Go catch up with your son. Bye." She smiled and then went inside the store. She went into her office and was surprised to see Peyton in there. "Peyton!? What are you doing here?"

"Well, I heard you were coming back today. I knew you'd come to your store so I decided to come and wait." She explained. "How was New York?"

"It was fine." Brooke was still confused as to why she was there. They weren't really friends anymore. "So...did you need anything?"

"As I'm sure you know, me and my husband Lucas are getting our vows renewed. I need a dress. And I thought nothing else was better than having you design it." Peyton told her.

"Oh. Ok. Well what kind of dress do you want?" Brooke really didn't want to do this but she wasn't going to lose a customer no matter who it was.

"I want a long dress. A dark shade of purple." Peyton said.

"Purple? For a wedding dress?" Brooke has never had a request for that color for a wedding.

"Why? Do you have a problem with it?" Peyton snapped.

"No! No I don't. It's just the first time I've had that color requested." Brooke hurried to explain herself.

"I get it." Peyton had a look on her face that Brooke wasn't quite sure she liked.

"Get what?" Brooke asked wary of the woman in front of her.

"You're jealous." Peyton said as if it was the most simplest thing in the world. "You're jealous that Lucas chose me over you. That you don't get to renew your wedding vows."

Brooke tried to hold in her laugh but it wasn't exactly working. "Are you kidding me? There's nothing to be jealous of."

"Oh please. We all know you want Lucas. You always have. Since high school." Peyton gave Brooke a dirty look.

"Really. Well yeah, I went out with him. Until you decided to get in the way of it. So don't make it seem like I'm going to pull a Peyton and go after someone's boyfriend, oh wait, husband."

"I never went after anyone's husband!" Peyton exclaimed.

"Really? So two years ago it wasn't you who was flirting with Nathan at a party while he was going out with Haley?" Brooke smirked because she knew that she had her there.

"I was drunk. And at least I don't go to another state with someone's husband!" Peyton shot back.

"One, I was there for business, he needed to get away from Haley. Two, they're getting divorced. And three, it's none of your damn business." Brooke counted off her fingers.

"Well just stay away from Lucas. He's mine." Peyton said.

"Keep him. I don't want him." Brooke told her.

"You're only saying that because he chose me." Peyton kept trying to rub it in her face and it was getting Brooke pretty pissed off.

"It's not like you were his first choice." Brooke muttered under her breath, hoping that Peyton didn't hear her but she did.

"What? What does that mean?" Peyton looked at Brooke but Brooke stood up.

"Listen if you're going to accuse me of doing things that I haven't done, then fine be that way. But don't expect me to make your dress. You can leave now." Brooke pointed to the door. Peyton stood up and left. Brooke left shortly after. She was so angry that when she got home she didn't notice Nathan on the front porch.

"Hey Brooke." He noticed the look on her face. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing. Just a bad day." Brooke walked inside and let Nathan in.

"Want to talk about it?" Nathan offered trying to be a good friend for her since she was for him.

"No." She answered but then a few minutes later she started rambling on about what happened. Nathan was shocked that Peyton would accuse her of loving Lucas.

"Wow." Nathan sat next to Brooke on her couch. "Are you ok?"

"Yeah. I just can't believe her. I don't know why but it hurt when she said those things to me." Brooke admitted.

"It's because you've been friends with her for so long that you still care about her, and for her to throw your friendship back in your face just took a stab at your heart." Nathan put his arm around her.

"Thanks Nate. You're a good friend." Brooke hugged him. He hugged her back.

"Anytime. I have to go. Lucas said he needs to talk to me. I'll call you later. Or you call me." He hugged her one more time then he left. He went to Karen's Café and waited for Lucas.

"Hey Luke." Nathan greeted his half brother.

"Nate." Lucas sat across from him.

"So you said we needed to talk?" Nathan asked.

"Listen, I have to tell you something. And you're not going to like it." Lucas started. But he couldn't look Nathan in the eye.


	7. The truth is revealed

1Nathan noticed that Lucas wouldn't look at him. "Dude, what's wrong?"

"Listen, I just want you to know now, that it was a mistake. And it only happened once. We never meant to hurt you." Lucas told him seriously.

"You're making me nervous." Nathan took a sip of his coffee.

"Ok. Well there's not other way to say this so..." Lucas paused. "Four years ago, things got heated between me and Haley. Um we had sex. Haley got pregnant. Jamie...I'm sorry Nathan. But Jamie's my son."

Nathan's jaw dropped. "Are you...are you positive?"

"Yeah. We had a paternity test done shortly after he was born." Lucas admitted.

"Why didn't you tell me? Why didn't she tell me?" Nathan was beyond angry now.

"We didn't want to hurt you. Haley loves you. She wanted to be with you." Lucas was slightly scared of Nathan right now.

"So you're telling me, that for four years, I raised him thinking he was my son when really he is yours?" Nathan stopped for a minutes. "He's my nephew?"

"I'm so sorry Nathan. I just...There's nothing I can say." Lucas still couldn't look at Nathan.

"I can't even look at you right now. I have to go." Nathan walked out of there quickly. He needed to talk to someone so he went to Brooke's.

"Hey Nate...what's wrong?" She let him in. He took a seat on her couch. She sat next to him.

"I just talked to Lucas." Nathan paused. "He told me that Jamie's his son."

"WHAT!?" Brooke exclaimed. "Are you kidding me?! Nate I'm so sorry."

"Me too. I just can't believe it." He held his head in his hands.

"I'll be right back. You're welcome to stay here." She grabbed her keys.

"Where are you going?" He asked her.

"I have to go see someone." She walked out the door and got into her car. First she drove to River court knowing that when Lucas is upset he goes there. He was playing basketball when she got there. Skills and Mouth were there too. Brooke got out of the car and walked over towards him.

"Brooke? What are you doing here?" Lucas asked her.

"How could you?!" She yelled at him.

"Look, Brooke, maybe we can talk somewhere else?" He grabbed her arm and took her away from the others. "So tell me what this is about."

"How could you do that to Nathan?! How could you do that to me?!" She yelled.

"Nathan told you. And what do you mean how could I do that to you? You turned me down." He told her.

"We weren't even going out. I'm not going to get married in a chapel by Elvis! And we were going out at the time! Not only did you cheat on me with my best friend! But you cheated on me with Haley too! How could you?" She asked him in a quieter voice.

"I never wanted to hurt you. Or Nathan. It's just, Haley and I have known each other for a long time. It just happened. And she got pregnant. After Jamie was born we got a paternity test done. He's my son." Lucas looked Brooke in the eyes. "I never meant to hurt you.

"You shouldn't be concerned about me. We're not together." She told him. "You should be worried about your brother. And how he's taking this. And you should worry about how Peyton's going to handle this."

"I know. I know. I'm sorry." He apologized to her.

"Don't apologize to me. This has nothing to do with me now. It did then, but that's the past. Goodbye Luke." She got into her car and drove off. She drove back to her house. She was shocked that Nathan was still there. "Hey you're still here."

"Yeah. I don't feel like going to the beach house. Where'd you go?" Nathan asked as she sat down on the couch.

"Talk to Luke. Yelled at him. You know, the usual." She sighed and turned on the TV.

"Brooke, you didn't need to." Nathan told her.

"I know. But, it needed to be done." She ran her hand through her hair.

"I sent Haley the divorce papers. More like, I stuck them in her mail box." Nathan looked down at the beer on the coffee table.

"Oh...you should talk to her about the Jamie situation." Brooke suggested.

"Yeah I know. I will. Soon. For now, lets watch TV." Nathan sat back and watched the television. They just hung out for the rest of the day. The next day Brooke was at her work.

"Hey Mill, when's your last day again?" Brooke asked her.

"Two days. I'm going to miss you." Millicent hugged Brooke.

"I'll miss you too. I'll stand at register for a little while. You can go out and meet Mouth for lunch." Brooke smiled as she watched Millicent say thank you and leave. Brooke's phone rang. She saw it was Nathan. "Hey Nate."

"Hey Brooke. What's up?"

"Nothing much. Just at work. You?"

"Just thought I'd let you know. Haley signed the divorce papers. I'm now single." She could hear the smile in his voice.

"I don't think I've ever known anyone to get a divorce and be happy." She mentioned.

"Yeah, well most people don't have what I have." He said.

"Oh yeah? What's that?" She asked.

"You. You're a great friend." He told her.

"Yeah. I've been told." She smiled.

"I mean it. I don't know how I would've gotten through this without you." He said seriously.

"Yeah well I'm here for you anytime." She knew what was coming next.

"Well yeah. Remember? I'm divorced now. You said it yourself. We couldn't do anything before because I was married. But now, I'm a free man." She could tell he was happy.

"Yeah yeah. Hey I have to go. I am at work. I'll see you later?" She asked.

"Count on it. Bye." He hung up.

Brooke was just watching the customers shop when a guy came up to the register. "Hi welcome to Clothes Over Bros. How may I be of service?"

"You can help by putting the money in the bag." He pulled a gun out and pointed it at her.

"Oh shit." Brooke muttered.

"Open the register!" He yelled at her. She jumped.

"I...I don't have the keys." She stuttered.

"Well then get them!" He cocked the gun.

"It's in t-the back." She was scared out of her mind.

"Lets go!" He walked around the counter and pointed the gun at her back and led her into the other room. She stumbled looking for them. "Hurry up!"

She found them and walked to the register. She was shaking so she couldn't get the keys in right. The guy was getting impatient so he shot the ceiling. Everyone in the store screamed. Brooke tried not to but she couldn't hold her tears in anymore.

"How long does it take to put the damn key in the lock?!" He aimed the gun back at her.

Meanwhile Millicent and Mouth were walking back to the store.

"That was a great lunch Mouth, thank you." She smiled and gave him a kiss.

"You're very welcome My lady." He put his arm around her. As they were two stores away, they heard a gunshot. "Oh my..."

"Brooke!" Millicent and Mouth ran towards the store. They looked in the window and saw a guy pointing a gun at Brooke. Millicent pulled her phone out and called the police.

Inside the store. Brooke got the register open. He shoved the bag in her hands.

"Put the money in there." He ordered. She did. As he turned to walk out he saw the cops outside. "You called the cops!"

"N-no! I didn't!" She stumbled on her words.

"Then how did they get here? You obviously called them!" He was red from yelling. Brooke was fed up with this guys stupidness.

"How could I have possibly called them with you pointing that gun in my face the whole time?!" She asked outraged that he could be so stupid.

He seemed to have realized that and was quiet. "Where's the backdoor?"

"We don't have one." She answered him. The guy was facing the back of the store and didn't notice the security guard come up behind him. The guard quickly got the guys gun away from him and tackled him to the ground. The police soon came in and arrested the guy. Millicent and Mouth ran to Brooke.

"Are you ok? I'm so sorry I wasn't here." Millicent hugged Brooke, then Mouth did.

"I-I'm ok. Really. I am. Just a little shaken up." One of Brooke's employees put the money back into the register. Mouth and Millicent brought Brooke to get a coffee at Karen's Café.

"So..what happened?" Mouth asked.

"Some guy just came in with a gun pointed at my face and wanted the money. Simple as that. Listen, can we not tell anyone? I just...I don't want people feeling bad for me. Even though nothing happened, I just...I don't think it's a big deal and..." Millicent knew she was having trouble with her words so she cut her off.

"We won't tell anyone. But if you need to talk, we're here." Mouth agreed with her. For the next two days Brooke has been different and everyone's noticed. So as people were saying bye to Mouth and Millicent, Nathan decided to ask them about it.

"Hey guys. I was wondering, Brooke's been acting differently for the past couple days." Nathan said.

"She told us not to tell anyone. But since we're leaving, she won't have someone to talk to it about. Not that she has anyways, but I'm only telling you this so you can be there for her when she needs it." Millicent said. "Two days ago, Brooke was robbed at Clothes Over Bros. A guy held a gun to her and he took all the money. But the cops arrested him and we have the money, but she's still shaken up over it."

"Why didn't she tell me?" He asked shocked from what he just heard.

"She didn't want to make a big deal of it." Mouth shrugged.

"So while I've been here dumping my problems on her shoulders, she's gone through this." Nathan felt bad for all the times he's complained to her over the past few days.

"Nathan, believe me, she loves being there for you. She's told me. You don't have anything to feel sorry for. I've been friends with Brooke for quite a couple years now, and from what I've learned, is that she loves helping people. She pushes her own problems aside to help others. She's just that type of person. And she really cares for you. So don't feel bad." Millicent gave him a small smile. Then her and Mouth had to go.

Nathan and Brooke drove back to Brooke's apartment.

"Why didn't you tell me?" He asked her.

"About what?" She was confused.

"About what happened in the store the other day." He said. "I would've been there for you. Like you've been here for me."

"Nate, it's just, you're going through your own problems right now. You didn't need mine on tops of yours." She told him.

"And you have your own problems to. You should've said something. You can't take everyone else's problems on top of your own." He felt bad. "I'm sorry for never asking if you were alright. I'm sorry for dumping my problems on you. I'm so..."

He was cut off by Brooke kissing him. When she pulled away he was smiling. So was she.

"You have nothing to apologize for. I like helping with your problems. So don't worry about it. But for now, there's a movie on demand that I have been wanting to see." She grabbed them snacks and drinks. Then they sat on the couch like usual and she played the movie Prom Night.


	8. Talking and Forgiveness? Or not

1Haley and Nathan met up at a Karen's Café to talk things out.

"So why didn't you tell me?" Nathan was staring right at her but she couldn't look at him in the eye.

"Because I loved you. I knew that you'd be crushed so me and Lucas just agreed on making Jamie yours. I'm so sorry Nathan." She finally looked at him and she was crying.

"I'm just pissed that it went on this long with me thinking that he's my son when really he's my brother's. My nephew." He told her honestly.

"I know. I know I'm sorry. Listen, I know I don't have a say in it, or it doesn't matter what I think. But I want you to be happy. I want Brooke to be happy. Even if it's together. Fine I just want my friends back." She grabbed his hand.

"Hales, we can be friends. I'm sure Brooke would love to still be your friend. We need to tell Jamie." Nathan's smile dropped a little when he said that.

"I know. He's going to be crushed." Haley took a sip of her coffee.

"He'll be fine. But I have to go." He stood up. He put money on the table and left. He went to Brooke's.

"Hey how'd it go?" She opened the door and let him in.

"Fine. We agreed to be friends. She wants to be friends with you too. We're going to tell Jamie tonight." He hugged her and kissed her on the cheek.

"Ok. So she's fine with us?" She went to get them drinks.

"Yeah. She said she just wants us happy." Nathan put on the TV. Brooke sat next to him. They just hung out for a couple hours. It was time for him to meet Haley, Jamie, and Lucas at Haley's house.

He got there and they all sat on the couch.

"So what's this about?" Jamie asked his parents.

"Honey, we have something to tell you." Haley began to nervously twist her hands around. "Sweetie, Lucas, is your real father. Nathan is your uncle."

"What? I don't understand." Jamie looked at his family curiously.

"Mommy and Lucas were together once. And we had you. But I was with Nathan and we raised you together." Haley held Jamie's hand.

"So.....dad...Nathan is my uncle. And un....Lucas is my dad?" Jamie looked so confused.

"Yes." Haley sighed relief that the truth was out now.

"I'm confused. I'm going to go lay down." He went to his room.

"That went better then expected." Nathan said to the others.

"Now all I have to tell is Peyton." Lucas rubbed his hand over his face. "She is not going to like this."

"If Peyton loves you as much as she says she does, then she'll understand." Haley held his hand for a second. "I'm going to make coffee. You want any?"

"No I'm going to go see Brooke." Nathan said bye then left.

"I'm going to go talk to Peyton. Bye Hales." He went home. He told Peyton. She was pissed off.

"I can't believe you!" She yelled. "You friggen had a KID with my BEST FRIEND!" She started pacing.

"Babe, it was years ago. Before you and me were ever together." Lucas touched her shoulder but she flinched away.

"I want a divorce." She stormed up the stairs so he followed.

"Come on baby. It happened a long time ago. We don't need to end us. We've come a long way. Too long to end over something that happened so long ago." He was following her around while she was packing.

"You're not good enough for me." She just grabbed her suitcase. Lucas froze in his step. The he ran after her.

"I'm not GOOD ENOUGH?!" He yelled.

"No. You're not." She put her suitcase in her car.

"I gave up EVERYTHING for you!" He was angry at her. "I gave up Brooke TWICE for you. And this is how it's going to end?! Over one MISTAKE that happened years ago?!"

"You should have thought about that before you slept with Haley!" She got into her car and drove off.

Brooke and Nathan were eating dinner when the doorbell rang. Brooke opened the door and was shocked to see Peyton there.

"Brooke. How are you?" Peyton shuffled back and forth on her feet nervously.

"Fine. What are you doing here?" Brooke was confused as to why Peyton would be at her house at this time of night. Or at all.

"I just came to see my best friend." Peyton gave Brooke a weak smile.

"Oh. So now that you found out the truth you come running back to me?" Brooke smirked at her.

"I'm sorry ok?" She wanted forgiveness and she thought that Brooke would give in like she used to.

"It doesn't matter anymore. You chose Lucas over me. Three times Peyton. There's no forgiving that." Brooke just shut the door in her face and walked back to the dinner table.

"Who was that?" Nathan looked up from his dinner plate.

"Peyton. She wanted forgiveness." Brooke started eating again. "I said no."

"Good. She needs to learn that every time her life goes wrong, she can turn to you and hope for you to fix it." He smiled at her.

"I agree." She leaned over and kissed him then they went back to eating.


	9. Friendships

It was a few weeks after the whole Jamie ordeal. Lucas hasn't seen or talked to Peyton. Even though he loved her, he was still hurt because of what she said about him not being good enough for her. Nathan, Brooke, Haley, and Lucas were all sitting at the River court like old times. Jamie was playing basketball by himself.

"Feels like old times, huh?" Brooke looked at the others.

"Yeah. Before things were so complicated. And I wasn't a divorcee." Haley smiled slightly. Everyone was getting along great now. Haley excepted that Nathan and Brooke had feelings for each other. She was just happy to have her friends back.

"Yeah. I will know the feeling in a few weeks." Luke told them. They all looked at him.

"What? You and Peyton are getting divorced?" Nathan looked at his brother shocked because he knew that Peyton and Lucas had an epic love story.

"Yeah. She told me that I'm not good enough for her. So we're done. I haven't talked to her in three weeks. I have no idea where she is. And I'm done with her drama." Lucas looked down at his feet. Haley put her arm around him.

"It's ok. Me and Nathan got divorced. Now he's dating my best friend. And I'm fine with it. See? I managed to get through my divorce. You will too." Haley smiled at him. Then looked at Brooke and Nathan and laughed when she saw them blushing.

"Our town is so weird. Everyone has slept with everyone." Lucas sighed.

"That is true. Let's see....I slept with, Brooke, Peyton, and Haley." Nathan said.

"So did I." Lucas agreed.

"Wow, I never realized it was like that. Everyone has slept with their best friends, ex-boyfriend. Or boyfriend in Luke and Peytons case when I was going out with him." Brooke pointed out.

"Ugh. I never heard the end of that." Lucas groaned remembering all the arguments.

"What?! I never gave you a hard time after a couple weeks!" Brooke exclaimed. Nathan and Haley smirked at this little discussion.

"Not from you. From Peyton." Everyone looked at him confused.

"What do you mean? From Peyton? Why would she bitch and complain about it? She had you." Brooke looked at Nathan and Haley but they both shrugged.

"Because, whenever I complimented on her look she always asked if she looked prettier than you. When she made dinner she asked if she cooked better than you. She wouldn't let me talk to you because she kept saying that I would cheat on her with you. Even though I told her I wouldn't. She was always comparing herself with you and always complaining about you. She complained about how you acted after you found out about me and her. And I don't mean she complained for a day, or a week, or even the time that you were mad at us. I mean she _still _complained up until the whole Jamie situation." Lucas explained to them all. All of their jaws were dropped.

"Wow. I never pictured Peyton to be like that." Haley said, still surprised to hear all that.

"Me neither. And I was best friends with her since we were eight. She never acted that possessive about anyone before." Brooke said.

"Yeah. I didn't know she was like that until after. And don't get me wrong, I loved her. Part of me still loves her. But I just can't deal with it anymore. It was starting to drive me nuts!" Lucas threw his hands in the air. Brooke's phone rang. She answered it.

"Hello?" Brooke was shocked at who called her. "Peyton?! Where have you been?"........."Georgia? Isn't that where Jake is?"........."You're kidding? Peyton, you're not even divorced yet! Does Jake even know that you're married to Luke?"..........."I'm not talking to you.".........."WHY?! Because you're going to break that poor guys' heart when he finds out."..........."I'm sorry but no, I'm not going to support you in this."..........."Because you're cheating on your husband. Who's a good friend of mine. And you're cheating on him _with_ a good friend of mine."............."Yes Jake and I are good friends. We talk all the time. Phone, e-mail, and letters."................."Because we're friends? I just told you that."........."Oh it is very tempting to tell him about you and Luke."........."Yes Luke is here. So is everyone else. So I'm going to go." She hung up.

"What on earth was that about?" Haley asked her.

"Yes. What was that about?" Luke watched her with curiosity.

"Peyton is in Georgia. Hooking up with Jake and playing family. He doesn't know she's married." Brooke explained.

"You still talk to Jagielski?" Nathan asked shocked.

"Yeah. All the time. He's a good friend. Helped me out once and ever since then, we just clicked." Brooke just waved it off. "Now, Peyton actually expected me to be happy for her."

"She's dumber than I thought." Haley said.

"You ok Luke?" Brooke asked him with concern.

"Yeah. I'll be fine. It's just.....she's still my wife. I've been faithful throughout the whole marriage and before when we were going out." Lucas looked at his shoes.

"Yeah. It's ok. You'll find that special someone Luke." Brooke gave his hand a squeeze. He smiled at her.

"If I had known all this crap with Peyton would happen I would have gladly stayed with Lindsay." Luke said. Haley and Brooke laughed.

"Ummm dude. She left you." Nathan gladly pointed out. Lucas playfully glared at him.

"One on one." Luke grabbed a basketball and stood up. Nathan laughed and they started to play a game. Jamie ran to Haley.

"Mom! Can we get an ice cream?" Jamie asked while fluttering his eyelashes. Haley laughed.

"Sure thing James. Want to come Brooke?" Haley offered.

"Yeah sure." They both started walking towards the little ice cream shop.

"You and Nathan will be good for each other." Haley told her. Brooke blushed.

"Thanks. I'm sorry. You know...about this whole situation." Brooke smiled at her sympathetically.

"Don't worry about it. If I tell you something promise not to say anything?" Haley asked her.

"Of course tutorgirl. You know you can trust me with anything." Brooke wrapped her arm around Haleys' shoulders.

"Well, I didn't just sleep with Lucas because I was drunk. I have always had feelings for Luke. And I just threw caution to the wind and went for it." Haley waited for Brooke to yell or do something. Brooke jumped up and down and squealed. Haley looked at her confused. "What?"

"I **knew **you two had feelings for each other." Brooke smiled. Haley frowned a little. "What?"

"I have feelings for him. He doesn't for me." Haley sadly sighed.

"Are you kidding me?!" Brooke exclaimed. "Of course he does! You just wait and see. Everything will come out the way it's supposed to be. But I will not let Jake get hurt by Peyton once again. I'm going to have a talk with him this weekend."

"You're going to tell him?" Haley asked surprised.

"Jake is one of my best friends. Even though he lives far away." Brooke told her. "I can't let him get hurt. If I can prevent it, then I will."

"Why don't you call him today or e-mail him?" Haley kept her eye on Jamie, who was a few feet ahead of them.

"Because, tutorgirl, Jake is coming to Tree Hill for the weekend. And it's better to say in person than over the phone. I just hope that goldiebitch isn't with him. If she is though, I need you to keep her distracted." Brooke told her and asked at the same time.

"Fine. But you owe me." Haley smiled. "Where's he staying?"

"My house. I have an extra room and I'm not letting him pay for a hotel room." They got to the ice cream shop.

"Does Nathan know?" Haley asked. "Because I know he won't be happy."

"Why? He likes Jake." Brooke was confused.

"Because Nathan is the jealous type. Of course he likes Jake. But if he feels threatened by him, he's going to let it show. So you might want to mention it to him before Jake arrives." Haley warned. She went to the counter to order the ice creams. Brooke thought about what she said. They both just talked about random stuff while they were there.

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**Finally updated! Please review and tell me if you like it!**


	10. Honest

It was later that night. Nathan and Brooke were sitting on her couch watching a movie.

"Hey Nate?" Brooke got his attention.

"Yeah?" He looked at her.

"Hope you don't mind, but Jake is coming to Tree Hill for the weekend and he's staying here." She looked at him to see what his reaction would be. He looked away, thought about it, then looked at her again.

"Can't he stay at a hotel or something?" He asked.

"What?! No! He's my friend Nate. I'm not going to make him spend money for a hotel when I have an extra room." She looked at him, surprised that he asked her that.

"Well what about him staying at my place and I'll stay here?" He hoped she would say yes.

"No Nathan. I already told him that he could stay here. I'm not changing things up because you're jealous for no apparent reason." She argued.

"No apparent reason?" He asked surprised she said that. "So it's not a good reason? I should like that a guy is coming to stay at my girlfriends house?"

"He's our friend." She told him. "I would never cheat on you. And you should know that."

"I know. I know. I'm sorry." He kissed the side of her head. "Let's watch the movie ok?"

After a few minutes he spoke again. "Thanks for asking though."

Brooke looked at him appalled. "What? I did not ask you. I don't have to ask you if it's ok to let my friend stay in my house. I was just being nice and letting you know before he showed up at my door." She stood up. "I'm going to bed. Lock the door on your way out." She started walking to her room.

"Brooke!" Nathan called after her but she slammed her door shut. He sighed then left after locking up.

It was the next day. Brooke was with Jamie at the park.

"You look miserable today." Haley told her.

"Me and Nathan had a fight yesterday." She said.

"Nathan and I." Brooke glared at her. "Sorry. Habit. About what?"

"Jake staying at my house." Brooke told her. "He made it seem like I had to ask him to let my friend stay at my house. He even said thanks for asking. That's when I flipped."

"What's you say?" Haley asked.

"I told him that I didn't ask. I was just letting him know so he wouldn't be surprised when Jake showed up at my house. And then I told him to lock up when he left and I went to bed." Brooke replayed what happened.

"Wow. He'll get over it." She told Brooke. "He's just jealous. He's that way. He used to be jealous whenever I hung out with Luke."

"Yeah, well apparently he had good reason." Haley looked down at her hands. "Sorry. I didn't mean that. The bitchiness is just a habit."

"It's ok." She watched Jamie play with the other kids. "He's growing up so fast."

"Yeah he is." Brooke smiled while watching her godson. "He's going to be a heartbreaker."

"Oh no he's not." Haley laughed. "Not if I can help it. I want to keep him away from the drama that we went through."

"Amen to that." Brooke and Haley laughed.

It was a few days later. Nathan and Brooke haven't talked or seen each other. It was the day before Jake was going to be there. Brooke was working on some sketches when her doorbell rang. She answered it and stepped aside when she saw Nathan. He sat on her couch. She sat next to him.

"I'm sorry." He said to her sincerely.

"It's ok." Brooke gave him a kiss on the cheek.

"I shouldn't expect you to have to get approval from me." Nathan sat back on the couch and grabbed Brookes shoulders and made her lean back with him.

"It's ok Nate." She kissed him. "Plus, we get to hang out with a friend that we haven't seen in a while. It's going to be fun."

It was the next day. Brooke just finished cleaning her house when the doorbell rang. She answered it and squealed when she saw Jake. She quickly jumped forwards and hugged him. Then, of course, she gave Jenny a kiss on the cheek.

"Aww no Peyton? So sad." She said as if she cared.

"Yeah Peyton told me you two were fighting." Jake brought his stuff to the guest room and put Jenny in for a nap. "Let's catch up."

They sat on the couch.

"So tell me what's been going on in this town." He said.

"Well, Nathan and Haley got divorced...."

"What?! I never would have seen that one coming!" Jake exclaimed.

"Yeah. Me and Nathan are dating......"

"I always used to wonder in high school how the captain of the cheer team and basketball team never got together."

"Jamie is really Luke's son."

"Oh wow.........."

"Jake I'm sorry." She started.

"Why?" He asked.

"Peyton and Lucas are married. They're getting divorced but they are married right now." She gave him a sad smile.

"Oh..........I never really saw that one coming." He sighed sadly. "I should have known."

"I'm sorry." She said. "Maybe I shouldn't have said anything. Just minded my own business."

"No no. I'm glad you told me." He looked at her. "I had a feeling something happened. Why are they getting a divorce?"

"She told Luke that she was too good for him." She grabbed his hand in friendliness.

"Wow." They just sat and watched TV for a little while. Once Jenny got up they decided to go to the Rivercourt to meet the others. They got there.

"Hey Jake! Man how are you?" Luke hugged him.

"I'm good. How are you? Sorry about Peyton." He smiled sadly at Luke. "I had no idea she was married."

"It's ok. I'm fine." Luke sat next to Haley on the bench. She went and hugged Jake then Nathan did. Nate was a bit timid about it though. He still didn't know how he felt about Jake staying at Brooke's. He was hoping that she told him about them.

"Hey Nate. Heard about you and Brooke." Jake smiled at him. Nathan smiled happy that Brooke told him.

"Yep." Nathan went and wrapped his arm around her. He kissed her cheek.

That weekend went by pretty quick. Jake went back home.

A few days after he left, Brooke was at home. She heard someone walk in so she turned around and was surprised to see a pissed off Peyton.

"Peyton?" She asked confused. Peyton stormed over to her.

"You just couldn't stand to see me happy could you?" Peyton asked as she smacked Brooke. Brooke looked back, surprised.

"I......Peyt......." Brooke didn't know what to say. "I'm sorry."

"You bet your ass you're sorry." Peyton glared at her. "We're done. We're not friends anymore."

Brooke was starting to get pissed. "One thing, _Peyton_, we haven't been friends in a long time. And two, I did the right thing. I was not going to let Jake get caught up in your little drama. And especially Jenny. She doesn't need to be influenced by someone like you......" Brooke stopped talking when Peyton tackled her to the ground. They were both fighting.

Haley was at Brooke's house and knocked but there was no answer. She was about to knock again when she heard a smashing noises and the sounds of a struggle. She quickly opened the door and ran into the kitchen and was surprised to see Peyton and Brooke fighting. She pulled Peyton off of Brooke.

"GET OUT OF MY HOUSE YOU TWO TIMING BITCH!" Brooke yelled to Peyton.

"Gladly. Don't bother ever contacting me! Either of you!" Peyton stormed towards the door.

"Oh don't worry about that, _sweetheart_, we didn't ever plan on it!" Brooke yelled as Peyton slammed the door shut. Brooke put a hand to her bruised cheek. "Ow."

"Come on lets get you washed up." Haley brought her into the bathroom and washed away some blood. "What was that about?"

"She stormed in here and started bitching about me ruining her life." Brooke shrugged. "Whatever."

"Well we're supposed to be meeting the boys for lunch." Haley told her. "You still up to going?"

"Yeah. Come on." They drove to the diner. They sat at the table.

"What happened!?" Nathan asked Brooke.

"Run in with Peyton." She shrugged then told the whole story.

"You ok?" Nathan asked.

"Of course." Brooke smiled at him. "I just.....Honestly? I just hope that she finds her happily ever after."

"We all do." Haley smiled at her.

They all just enjoyed their time together before they had to head home. Nathan drove Brooke home and Lucas drove Haley.

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**Well that's chapter 10. Review! I will have things go right for Peyton. But you just have to wait and see. Well....read anyways.**


	11. Laley!

It was a few weeks after the whole Peyton drama. Lucas and Haley were just walking around Tree Hill while Nathan and Brooke were spending time with James. They went to a little ice cream shop.

"Peyton and I are divorced." Lucas told Haley.

She looked at him. "Since when?"

"Two weeks ago." He paid for their ice creams then they sat down.

"I'm sorry." She grabbed his hand and gave it a reassuring squeeze.

"It's ok." Lucas gave her a smile.

They hung out at the ice cream shop for a little while then decided to start walking again. They walked to the mall.

"Remember dare night?" Haley turned and asked him. He laughed.

"Oh God. Don't remind me." They walked into a store.

"You never did tell us what you had to do." She poked his side trying to get him to tell.

"No no no. I am not bringing any of that up." He laughed at her.

"Come on!" She whined.

"You're starting to sound like Jamie." He tickled her sides.

"Stop." She laughed. "I am just so happy that Felix is not in town anymore. He was a class-A jerk."

"Yeah. Although I do miss Anna. She was nice." They walked into a movie store. "Oh I wanted to buy this movie. I have been looking everywhere."

"Yeah. I remember when Brooke, Peyton, Anna, and I had that sleep over. Brooke hated that Anna was there." Haley laughed at the memory of that night.

"So what did you girls do that night?" He asked. "Talk about boys, and make-up, and clothes?"

"No. Not even close." She smiled. "We had naked pillow fights."

He stopped in his tracks, his eyes wide. "Really?"

"Ha ha. Get whatever's on your mind, off. I was kidding." She pulled his arm out of the store. "We just talked and gossiped."

"Boring." Lucas put his arm around her.

"Oh because playing basketball and talking about which girl you've slept with is so fun?" She sarcastically asked.

"Well...in this town yes. Because everyone's competitive in basketball in this town and everyone has slept with everyone." They walked to the high school.

"I remember the day of the school shooting." She sighed sadly. "I was so scared. I can't believe Jimmy would do something like that."

"Yeah. I know. If only I didn't go into the school that day. Keith would still be alive." Lucas sighed sadly.

"But then Peyton would have probably died." She wrapped her arm around his waist and gave him a slight squeeze.

"Sometimes, I wish it was just me and you in high school." They sat on the front of the stairs. "Things would have been less complicated."

"Yeah. But then we wouldn't have Brooke and Nathan." She smiled at the thought of her friends. "Those two are great. I mean at first Brooke was a bitch and Nathan was an asshole. But they've changed for the better."

"Yeah." He agreed. "They really have. I wish I never betrayed Brooke the way I had. But I think that it made her a somewhat better person."

"She's a great person." She said. "She's awesome with Jamie too, that's a plus."

"We should probably go head back. It's getting late and I'm sure that Jamie wants to see his mom before he gets to bed." They stood up and started walking the way they came.

"And his dad." They smiled at each other. Then Haley frowned. "Do you remember where you parked the car?"

"Uhhhh........." They spent an hour looking for the car and found it in front of Clothes Over Bros. Where Karen's Café used to be. "I miss my mom."

"Me too." They got into the car. "When is she coming back with Lily and Andy?"

"Christmas." He told her.

"That's like.........8 months away!" Haley exclaimed. "She should just move back."

"I agree." They drove to Brooke's house. Before they got to the door Haley stopped Luke. "Hales?"

"Listen, I know it's probably too soon, and I get that, I do." She started. "But, I have feelings for you. I always have. Even when we had sex, I knew what I was doing. You're my best friend, and I'll wait for you.........."

He cut her off with a kiss. "You don't have to wait."

She smiled and kissed him again. Unknown to them, Brooke and Nathan were watching out the window with big smiles on their faces.

"I'm happy for them." Brooke told Nathan.

"Me too. Our town is royally screwed up." Nathan kissed the side of her head.

"Definitely." They ran away from the window when they saw Haley and Lucas start to make it to the door. "Don't let them know that we know. We have to wait for them to tell us."

Haley knocked on the door. Brooke opened it.

"What are you doing?" Brooke asked her. "You tutorgirl know that you do not have to knock on this door. You are welcomed anytime."

"Thanks." Haley smiled at her.

Lucas feigned hurt. "What about me? I'm not welcomed anytime?"

"Hmmm....." She pretended to think it over. Haley laughed. "No I guess you are too broody. Come on in."

They went inside.

"Jamie is........." Brooke stopped talking when Nathan walked out carrying him. "Here."

"He fell asleep." Nathan handed him to Luke.

"Obviously." Luke smirked at Nate.

"Shut up." They all laughed.

"Well we should be going. James needs a bed to sleep in." They walked to the door. "Thank you Brooke, Nate."

"Oh please. Anytime." Brooke told her. "I love spending time with him. Call me tomorrow."

"I will. Bye." They left. Brooke and Nathan went to bed.

Luke and Haley got to Haleys' house. Luke put James in his bed then went downstairs.

"Well I should get going." Lucas smiled at her. He turned to go but Haley grabbed his hand.

"Stay." She told him.

"What?" He asked.

"Stay." She pulled him to her and kissed him. "We can sleep in the same bed."

"Haley James, who knew you were so forward." He raised an eyebrow at her. She laughed and punched him in the arm.

"You know what I meant." She kissed his cheek. "I want to take this slow. Last time I rushed into things and look at what happened. I'm divorced."

"That won't happen with us." He kissed her hand. "Lets get to bed." They went upstairs and went to sleep.

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**The beginning of Laley. Well not counting that one time. Anyways, review please!**


	12. Peyton

**So it's been a very long time since I have updated any of my stories. I've been very busy. But I decided to just add this chapter to give you guys something to read and to get Peyton closer to her happily ever after. I told you guys I would.**

**Enjoy!**

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In L.A. Peyton sat on her couch talking to her boyfriend Julian.

"So have you talked to Brooke or anyone in Tree Hill?" He asked her.

"No." She looked at him sadly. "I miss them all but after the things I did and said, I don't think we can fix things."

"It doesn't hurt to try."

"I know." She kissed him. "I love you. I love that you are caring and give me such great advice."

"I love you too. And I just want you happy."

"I am happy." She got up to get ready for work. "Though I have to take a shower."

"Want some company?" He smirked at her and she laughed.

"I suppose I could use some." He stood up and kissed her. They went into the bathroom.

It was a couple hours later. While Julian was at the studio directing some commercial, Peyton was at her record studio listening to her most recent artist singing. Surprisingly after the whole problems in Tree Hill, Lucas's ex-fiancee Lindsay and Peyton became pretty good friends after she moved back to L.A. Lindsay walked into the studio.

"Hey. How's it going?" She sat next to Peyton. "They're good."

"Yes they are very good." Peyton accepted the coffee. "I'm ok. Just thinking about the gang in Tree Hill."

"Go visit. Make amends."

"It's just so awkward." She looked at Lindsay sadly. "I mean, the last time I saw them I pretty much attacked Brooke. And I told her and Haley never to speak to me."

"I know. But it's never too late to make things right." Lindsay hugged Peyton. "I have to admit though. I was shocked when I heard about Lucas and Haley. I never thought there was anything romantic between them. Poor Nathan. He must have been heart broken."

"He was. But Brooke is there for him. He loves her. She loves him." Peyton smiled. "I think things worked out for the best. I wouldn't have Julian if it wasn't for what happened. And Julian is the best thing that has ever happened to me. Almost the best."

"Almost?" Lindsay looked at her questioningly.

"I'm pregnant." Lindsay's jaw dropped and she hugged Peyton again.

"Oh my God! Does Julian know?"

"Not yet. You're the first."

"Oh wow! I can't believe it. Congratulations!"

"Thank you."

"Wow. Oh my. I lost track of time. I have to go speak to one of my authors." Lindsay smiled at her. "It was great to see you. I will talk to you later?"

"Of course."

"Bye."

Lindsay left and the work day flew by. Peyton got home and was really nervous because she didn't know how to tell Julian and she was afraid of what he would say or think. She made them dinner and they were eating and casually talking.

"Peyton…"

"Julian…"

They said at the same time and they laughed.

"You first." Peyton told him.

"Peyton, I love you with all my heart. I've never known that I could love anyone like this until I met you. You are my inspiration and I don't want to ever be without you." He got on one knee in front of her and held out a box with a beautiful diamond ring inside. "Will you Peyton Sawyer, marry me? And make me the happiest man ever?"

Her jaw dropped and her eyes watered.

"Yes." He kissed her and put the ring on her finger. " I have something to tell you."

"Ok."

"I'm pregnant."

He froze for a second then smiled. "Really?"

"Really."

He laughed happily and kissed her. They spent the rest of the night talking about baby names, despite it being many months too early.

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**Well did you like it? Did Peyton get what she finally deserves? Review and tell me what you think! Thanks! And thanks for your patience.**


	13. Author's Note

**Authors' Note:**

**I'm sorry to anyone who's been following my stories and waiting for an update. I haven't had any access to internet for quite some time so I haven't been able to post any updates. But now that I have access again, I will be working on adding more to my stories for you all to read.**


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